Half an hour later, Zhu Xiu was sitting in the front hall of the Taifu Mansion.

The person who welcomed him into the house was Zhou Min.

"Second Young Master..."

"Call me second brother!" Zhou Minyang was angry.

Zhu Xiu's lips twitched slightly. She woke up with a hangover, but she was still as enthusiastic as ever.

"Hey, your brother has a good capacity for drinking! Last night at the banquet, your brother and I drank till our glasses were dry. It was a great pleasure to drink!

To be honest, Brother Yu has not encountered such a large number of people for a long time!"

Zhou Min's face was full of sighs, and he felt as if he had met his opponent in chess and felt sympathy for each other.

"Haha~" Zhu Xiu laughed dryly.

Zhu Wu said that Zhou Min was making a lot of noise at the wine table this time. In fact, his drinking capacity was very bad, and Yang Qiaolian could have drunk him down if he had been in the battle.

But this guy still feels good about himself.

Zhou Min still wanted to pester Zhu Xiu to talk, but Zhou Zong came in slowly with his hands behind his back, his eyes widened and he shouted: "What are you doing here? Get off!"

Zhou Min dared to say: "My child is very close to my future brother-in-law..."

"Get lost!" Zhou Zong yelled angrily. Zhou Min shrunk his neck and did not dare to say anything. He bowed his hands and ran out of the hall.

"Alas, my family is unlucky, and I don't know how to teach my children!" Zhou Zong sat down and sighed.

Zhu Xiu consoled him: "The second young master is quite good, but his temper is a little out of control..."

Zhou Zong said angrily: "This treacherous son is already forty, but his temperament is still so unpredictable. It really makes me angry!"

Zhu Xiuhan Han Huhu said authentically: "I'm lucky that my uncle has three sons. I heard from Emperor E that the eldest son is a stable man and will definitely be able to help my uncle take care of the family in the future..."

The implication is that you have many sons anyway, and you can always get one or two generals among the short boys. Zhou Min will just let him go...

How can I teach someone who is already forty years old?

Zhou Zong stared, not knowing whether to be happy or angry.

"Ahem~"

The two of them reached a tacit understanding and did not continue the topic. Zhou Zong took a sip of tea and moistened his voice and said: "My dear nephew, I think you can see what I mean, so there is no need to keep beating around the bush.

To put it bluntly, as long as you are willing to stay in Jiangning and serve me in the Tang Dynasty, I will marry Emperor E to you! You can choose the positions below the Minister of the Sixth Ministry. If you want to leave the capital, I can recommend you to serve as a military commander in the Guangde Army. Recommend official....

After all, you have just arrived and are still young. There are still many people in Jiangnan who have not heard of your reputation. Granting you a high position rashly will easily arouse people's jealousy.

After a few years, when you become familiar with Jiangnan's customs and customs, I will adjust your position for you..."

Zhu Xiu thought for a while: "Uncle, do you want to plant trees first, then enjoy the shade, support me to establish myself in the south of the Yangtze River, and then use me to protect the Zhou family?"

Zhou Zong twisted his beard and smiled, acquiescing.

Zhu Xiugong raised his hand and said: "My nephew is so virtuous and capable that my uncle values ​​me so much. I feel ashamed! My uncle is kind and my nephew appreciates it~"

Zhou Zong's hand trembled and he cut off a beard. He held back the pain and said angrily: "You don't want to?"

He never expected that Zhu Xiu would refuse so decisively.

Zhu Xiu said seriously: "Uncle, don't be anxious, just listen to me.

May I ask my uncle if he will report this matter to the Lord of Tang Dynasty?"

"You are a minister of the Great Zhou Dynasty. If I want you to stay and serve our court, naturally you must ask for my lord's permission!" Zhou Zongdao.

"What does His Majesty, the Emperor of your country, say?"

Zhou Zong said in a deep voice: "With my recommendation and your past achievements and reputation, Your Majesty will naturally agree!"

Zhu Xiu said with a smile: "Uncle, have you ever thought that my nephew was the murderer who almost killed the prince? Although the Lord of Tang Dynasty will no longer pursue the matter, he must know the truth about Jujingyuan.

To be offensive, is the Lord of the Tang Dynasty really so magnanimous that he can even let go of the murderer who kidnapped the prince?"

Zhou Zong's expression changed slightly: "Then why do you think His Majesty forgives you?"

Zhu Xiu smiled, "The reason why the Lord of the Tang Dynasty spared my life is that firstly, he didn't want to have an enmity with Dazhou because of me; secondly, I am a somewhat interesting person. The Lord of the Tang Dynasty raised me as a jester and would amuse him from time to time. Thirdly,

It was my uncle who came forward to intercede, or maybe my uncle praised me vigorously in front of Lord Tang, and Lord Tang just acted more generously for my uncle's sake..."

Zhou Zong was silent for a while: "What do you mean, His Majesty will not really trust you, and even if you are willing to stay and serve the imperial court, he will not entrust you with important tasks?"

Zhu Xiu smiled and said: "In the eyes of Lord Tang, my biggest personal use is to maintain contact with Zhou Dynasty, ensure the stability of the border between the two countries, and ensure the peace between the two countries in a short period of time.

Once I lose my status as a minister of the Great Zhou Dynasty, your Majesty may not think highly of me again!"

Zhou Zong's eyes flickered, and his old face looked a little ugly.

Zhu Xiu's words reminded him that the reason why the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty agreed to keep Zhu Xiu and was happy to see the marriage between the two families come to fruition was because he had other intentions.

Zhu Xiu said sincerely: "My nephew believes that my uncle will not harm me, and I am willing to have a heart-to-heart talk with my uncle today. This matter involves the lives of the Zhou family and my nephew, so be careful!"

Zhou Zong had a sullen face, stared at Zhu Xiu closely, and nodded slowly: "Follow me."

Zhou Zong got up and took Zhu Xiu to the study room in the back house.

"This is my study. Even Ehuang is not allowed to enter without permission. There is no risk of leakage if you speak here."

Zhu Xiu couldn't care less about admiring the furnishings in the study, and sat down with Zhou Zong across a bamboo eucalyptus table.

"Uncle, have you ever thought about why the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty strongly supported the marriage between the Zhou family and me?" Zhu Xiu asked.

Zhou Zong furrowed his brows and thought for a moment: "You have no foundation in Jiangnan. If the Zhou family is married to you, the strength of the Zhou family will not be strengthened in a short period of time.

Rather than racking your brains to prevent the marriage between the Zhou family and the Jiangnan family, it is better to go with the flow and agree to my request!"

"Uncle hit the nail on the head!" Zhu Xiu praised.

"It's not difficult to guess what Lord Tang is thinking. All you need to know is that his heart is always towards the prince!

This is not because the prince has outstanding abilities, but because the emperor of the Tang Dynasty needs him to complete the inheritance of the throne and ensure the smooth transition of imperial power.

No matter how deep the brotherhood between the Lord of Tang and the King of Jin and the King of Qi is, the position of crown prince can only be inherited by the direct blood of the Lord of Tang!

This is related to the continuation of the royal family, and the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty will not allow the imperial power to fall by the wayside.

The so-called brotherhood is just a joke and cannot be taken seriously. If anyone takes it seriously, death is not far away!

Therefore, the Lord of the Tang Dynasty would not allow the princelings to decline too much. Even if there were occasional threats to squeeze out the imperial power, the Lord of the Tang Dynasty would only suppress them but not eliminate them!

On the contrary, the King of Jin's party was only used by the Emperor of Tang Dynasty to fight against the forces of the East Palace, creating a situation in which the two parties in the DPRK and China were in conflict, making it easier for them to control the government.

Once you understand this, you will know that the fate of King Jin's faction has already been determined. When the prince succeeds to the throne, it will be difficult for all the old ministers around King Jin to die well!"

Zhou Zong's old face was already a bit pale, his hands tightly grasped the armrests of the chair, and his whole body was trembling slightly.

"Your Majesty, does your Majesty really have such thoughts?"

Zhou Zong's voice was hoarse and a little unbelievable.

As a member of the Jin King's party, he always believed that the Jin King might inherit the throne.

The worst outcome is that after the death of the Tang Dynasty Lord, he will become a clan official with real power.

After all, it was Li Jing who made the King of Jin the crown prince against all opinions.

He also vowed to shout out the slogan of brotherhood before the death of the late emperor.

It can be inferred from this that Li Jing's original behavior was just to win over people's hearts and temporarily appease the King of Jin and other important officials.

For so many years, he has been ambiguous about the position of crown prince, sometimes favoring the prince, and sometimes favoring the king. The purpose is to put pressure on the prince, force officials to take sides, and form a party struggle under his control!

Zhou Zong sighed, and his expression became much older in an instant: "Is this the so-called emperor's art? Your Majesty's deep thoughts are beyond my reach!"

Zhu Xiu sneered: "The emperor's art is not the emperor's way! The 'art' is just a scheming method, and it is far from the real 'king' way!"

In my nephew's opinion, the Tang Dynasty Lord's move did more harm than good. The country was depleted internally, and all the officials were focused on party fighting. Who else really thinks about the country, the people, and the country?

Jiangnan seems to be prosperous and peaceful for many years, but it conceals many conflicts among the people.

Partisans were at odds, extravagance was prevalent in both the government and the opposition, wealthy families occupied private and official lands, excessive levies and miscellaneous taxes were imposed, and the people's corvee labor was heavy.

All kinds of shortcomings will eventually cause endless harm, and once the political situation becomes unstable, the resentment among the people will completely explode!"

Zhou Zong looked complicated: "So in this situation of conflict between the north and the south, you are not optimistic about the Tang Dynasty at all?"

Zhu Xiu said calmly: "Yes, with the current situation in Tang Dynasty, it is absolutely impossible to dominate the world! No one in the Li family has the ability to be this generation of heroes who will wipe out the world!"

Zhou Zong smiled bitterly: "Wen Cai thinks that the Guo family and his son are the heroes who will end this troubled world?"

Zhu Xiu smiled but did not answer, bowed slightly and said: "Please help me return to the Northern Dynasty, uncle! Zhu Xiu will never forget the kindness of the Zhou family, and he will definitely repay it in the future!"

After a moment of silence, Zhou Zong sighed: "How are you going to treat Emperor E?

Who in Jiangning City doesn't know that you expressed your love to His Majesty in front of His Majesty and sent you a love poem at Ziyun Tower last night.

A wise daughter is more like a father, Ehuang is not repulsive to you...

Besides, Your Majesty has promised that as long as you stay, he will grant you a marriage..."

Zhu Xiu smiled and said: "You can use the trick. I promised to stay on the surface, and my uncle helped me to create the illusion that I was about to become the son-in-law of the Zhou family and join the Tang Dynasty. This confused everyone, and then I waited for an opportunity to escape and return to the Northern Dynasty!"

"What should I do about Emperor E?" Zhou Zong looked a little gloomy, "If this happens, her good reputation will be ruined..."
To be continued...